The nation’s primary payer for long-term services and supports, Medicaid finances 43 percent of all spending on long-term care services and covers a range of services and supports, including those needed by people to live independently in the community, as well as services provided in institutions.

This report provides an overview of long-term care users and their acute and long-term care service spending. The report finds that although the individuals who rely on long-term care are diverse and comprised only six percent of the Medicaid population in 2007, they accounted for nearly half of total Medicaid spending that year.